For the purposes of this invention, a plasma is defined as a collection of charged particles of like charge, that is, the plasma or plurality of charged particles can be either all negatively, or all positively charged.
At the present time, traditional fixed geometry plasmas are difficult to contain and utilize. One notable use of plasmas utilizing particles of opposite charge is in fusion reactors wherein the plasma is raised to high energy levels and contained within strong magnetic fields. The plasma is amorphous in shape in that it is contained as a ring shaped mass held in place by magnetic fields and includes particles of unlike charge having pathways or orbits within the ring that are not precisely fixed or defined.
A traditional use of a single charge plasma is in particle accelerators such as cyclotrons where charged particles are raised to high energy levels and contained by complex magnets. The shape of the mass of charged particles is essentially amorphous. A third use of charged particles is for electron beams. These beams are useful for welding and deposition, but are transient in nature and of a simple, line geometry.
What would be useful is a class of plasmas which require a low level of energy for containment. What would also be useful would be plasmas which can be maintained for long periods of time. This would open up many new applications, to include new energy storage methods.
A plasma geometry that is fixed rather than amorphous is provided by the present invention in which the particles move in definable paths. When so configured, the plasma will be containable and controllable to a far greater degree than an amorphous plasma. Energy can be added to or removed from the plasma in a well defined, simple, and controlled manner opening new possibilities for energy storage.
The system provides a generator for the fixed geometry plasma having a specific toroidal shape. The system shapes the plasma into a toroid using a circular magnetic field generated by a charged particle beam, a single conductor, or a toroidal conductor coil, or other method.
A plasma is shaped into a fixed and stable geometric form in which the orbit of the charged particles is definable and predictable. The geometry of the plasma will be a toroid, an elongated toroid, or any number of desirable shapes. The toroid will be hollow, with a thin shell of orbiting particles.
A fixed geometry plasma generator can include a vacuum, charged particle source, and a circular magnetic field. In one embodiment of the fixed geometry plasma generator a single conductor is used to generate a circular magnetic field. In another embodiment a charged particle beam is used to generate a circular magnetic field. In another embodiment a toroid conductor coil is used to generate a circular magnetic field. Described is a simple way to modify the toroid coil to generate an infinite family of fixed geometry plasmas.
A further embodiment of the invention relates to a vacuum tube system for energy storage. An electron source assembly can be sealed onto a port of the vacuum tube to provide controlled injection of electrons. Charged plates can be positioned about the vacuum system to add additional energy.
The novel features of this invention are set forth in detail in the appended claims. The invention will best be understood when read in with conjunction with the accompanying drawings and descriptions.